Internationalization of the social research in Lebanon

This paper aims to investigate the extent to which social research in Lebanon is internationalized and the interplay between the local and international factors influencing the research practice. It will be based on a sample of some 65 interviews with Faculty on American University of Beirut, focusing on semi-structured in-depth interviews focusing on their biographies, their authorship and research practices. This research will enable us to understand:

·                How research topics are decided and how choices are made, at the institutional level in the university? How does the promotion system influence the ranking system of publication, as well as the quality of research?

·                How do international collaborations affect the decisions of researchers in the university? And what countries and topics are privileged?

·                How does the university structure affect the organization, scientific choices, and publication patterns of researchers?

·                What is the importance of local vs. “international” publications, publications in Arabic vs. English and other foreign languages?

·                How funding sources affect scientific research done by the university’s academics?

While data concerns all the disciplines, we will first deal with faculty in social science and humanities and then compare this data with the other disciplines.